Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various small falcons belonging to the genus Falco that are distributed worldwide, especially the American kestrel and the European kestrel.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A common European falcon, Falco tinnunculus, Tinnunculus alaudarius, or Cerchneis tinnunculus, of small size and reddish color. The body is 12½ inches long, the wing 9. The bird is brick-red with black arrow-heads on the back, the under parts being some shade of buff, fawn, or rufous, much spotted with black, and the head, neck, and rump being mostly bluish-gray. It inhabits parts of Asia and Africa, as well as the whole of Europe. It builds in hollow trees and in cliffs, or in nests deserted by crows, magpies, etc., and feeds on mice, small birds, and insects. The kestrel may be recognized by its habit of hovering or sustaining itself in the same place in the air by a rapid motion of the wings, always with its head to the wind (whence the names stannel and windhover). The male and female differ in color, ash-gray prevailing in the former and rusty brown in the latter. This hawk being regarded as of a mean or base kind, kestrel was formerly often used as an epithet of contempt. The term is extended to a number of species of the restricted genus Tinnunculus or Cerchneis. The American representatives are commonly known as sparrow-hawks. See cut under
sparrow-hawk . Also calledstannel and windhover.
Wiktionary
- n. Any of various small falcons of the genus Falco that hover while hunting.
- n. The common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) A small, slender European hawk (Falco alaudarius), allied to the sparrow hawk. Its color is reddish fawn, streaked and spotted with white and black. Also called
windhover andstannel . The name is also applied to other allied species.
WordNet 3.0
- n. small Old World falcon that hovers in the air against a wind
- n. small North American falcon
Etymologies
- From Middle English castrel ("staniel, bird of prey"), from Middle French cresserelle, crecerelle ("bird of prey"), derivative of crecelle ("rattle, wooden reel"), of obscure origin. (Wiktionary)
- Probably from obsolete French cresserelle, from Old French cresserele, probably from cresselle, clacker, kestrel. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Also, from my reading the kestrel is full-grown ... and a male.”
“A kestrel is still a hawk, but the amazing part of the (revised) story is that Juan Hurino is taking the bird to the vet anyway; even though the kestrel was probably attracted to his own chickens.”
“The kestrel is the most fertile; for this is nearly the only bird of prey which drinks, and its moisture, both innate and acquired, along with its heat is favourable to generative products.”
“The kestrel is a small raptor in the falcon family.”
“A kestrel is a type of falcon, like the peregrine but smaller.”
“The kestrel is the bird known in England as the windhover, on account of its habit of hovering in mid-air on rapidly-vibrating wings before pouncing on the lizard or other small fry, for which it is ever on the watch.”
“For the kestrel is a most insulting creature towards the bigger birds.”
“The kestrel is the commonest hawk in the southern parts of England, so that many opportunities occur to observe his habits; and there ought not to be any doubt in the matter.”
“Robb Herbst called the kestrel the prettiest bird of prey in the Roanoke Valley area.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘kestrel’.
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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More Bird Wirds: North America
Birds endemic to the United States and/or North America.
toucan, peacock, weaver, bullfinch, redpoll, siskin, crossbill, finch, rosy-finch, oriole, cowbird, blackbird and 213 more...
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Watership Down
Every time there's a group discussion, I'll remember that it's just a bunch of bunnies sitting around and I'll laugh.
copse, lapine, creosote, stoat, kestrel, lollop, bluebottle, warren, myxomatosis
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If-Christ-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-...
Words that have been used as baby names, including virtue names, nature names, place names, etc.
The title is an actual name given to a Puritan boy in the 17th century.faith, hope, grace, charity, chastity, prudence, patience, temperance, river, phoenix, stone, violet and 455 more...
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Brinstar's Words
cobalt, obfuscate, archon, wii, sniper, arcane, celerity, visage, auspicious, ether, epidemic, lich and 138 more...
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Words I'd Like to Use Someday
thundersnow, phantasmagoria, mercurial, chimerical, taciturn, paraclete, lapis lazuli, flay, guttersnipe, wonky, misanthrope, kestrel and 583 more...
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words found to be generally pleasing
alabaster, mahogany, camphor, coalesce, spire, portmanteau, gadabout, palaver, dolor, dour, dun, luminesce and 610 more...
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Logophile, The Back Page (AKA: just c...
node, nexus, locus, toroidal, ivory, kestrel, lyre, muscat, caldera, tapestry, codex, paragon and 103 more...
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elizacole's Words
isomorphic, endemic, tmesis, fillip, antedate, avoirdupois, jeremiad, hypnagogic, antediluvian, fuck, reification, raconteur and 251 more...
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noble mythical words
halcyon, yore, chevalier, geas, dour, clarion, codex, selkie, mythic, rime, hoarfrost, eldritch and 112 more...
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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Oh them words, them words
My fancies, my cudgels.
liquescent, ferly, lamia, basilisk, trigon, fantast, stirp, tristesse, enfleurage, stemma, formicary, lacrimation and 346 more...
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Flora and Fauna
poa annua, pooka, vole, bestiary, popple, turgor, starling, sharpy, copse, coreopsis, clove, corvid and 348 more...
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...:::bella:::...
originally started as an attempt to collect words I found visually and auditorially beautiful, as well as psychically evocative, this has become nothing more than a grab bag of word curiosities, a ...
bergamot, jambalaya, bee's knees, heliotrope, hosanna, gamboge, aureole, filial, madrigal, multilingual, sacrosanct, sojourn and 1072 more...
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The Amulet of Samarkand
Words and phrases from Jonathan Stroud's The Amulet of Samarkand.
flunky, provenance, pare, rabbit in a covert, short shrift, bunker, trainers, tatty, lob, injunction, doss, bluster and 193 more...
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5-0
Hecko, words! I’m so happy I’ve found you. I want to keep you all and never want to lose you again. I hope you like it here.
amscray, thistledown, tine, tinsel, pungent, snarl, wail, lanky, viscid, dawdle, luminous, stow and 2719 more...
Tweets
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